Pokeblocks

Pokeblocks

Pokeblocks are an item that can be created by Trainers that is used to alter the stats of a Pokemon in order to increase its chances for winning contests at the Pokemon Contest House in Lillycove City. 

Pokeblocks are made by mixing berries in special machines either with NPC Trainers or with real life Trainers you link with in the game.  The berries that are used along with your (and your partners) success at hitting the mark at the proper time in the berry blending process will dictate how effective the block making process is, providing you with a specific quality of block.  The higher the quality the better, obviously.

Berries are obtained from trees located in special growing patches throughout the game -- you should already be very familiar with the process of obtaining berries in the game.  As mentioned above, the use of  different berries results in different blocks.

There are different kinds of Pokeblocks, and each results in a different effect when they are fed to one of your Pokemon.  This is not really a complicated system, and the effects and types are well known.

Evaluating the Condition of Your Pokemon

-- Using Pokeblocks / Determining the type of Pokeblock to Use --

Before you begin the process, first load your PokeNav unit and select CONDITION from the main menu.  You will be presented with three choices in this sub-menu: Party Pokemon, Search, and Cancel.  For the purposes of this mini-guide we will be using Party Pokemon throughout.

Select "Party Pokemon" from the sub-menu, and you will be shown the Condition Page for the first Pokemon in your Party (the Pokemon who is in slot 1).  You can view the pages for the other party Pokemon by pushing down on the left stick/pad.  (Note: I am playing on the Nintendo Game Cube, using the Nintendo Game Boy Player so that I can play my games on the TV, which is a lot better than the small screen on the GBA).

On the screen is a symbol that depicts the status of your Pokemon -- specifically how much influence has been applied to it from Pokeblocks.  If you have not used any, what you will see is a five-pointed shape with equal small circles of color that corresponds to:

Blue=Beauty
Green - Smart
Pink=Cute
Red=Cool
Yellow=Tough

Each block that you make has a specic color or colors associated with it.  Feeding it to one of your Pokemon will raise those colors on this chart, in effect increasing that stat.  The higher quality of block, the more it will raise. 

Be aware that a Pokemon can only eat a certain number of blocks, after which no matter what the resulting stats are, it will never eat another.  Because of that you want to make sure that you feed them only the highest quality of block, and that you obtain the stat results you are seeking.  Mistakes cannot be undone.  This is a one-way process.

When you select the block from the pouch you obtained from the woman at the Contest House (when you make blocks they are stored in that pouch, which is a Key Item -- you cannot make blocks without it) you will note that in the lower left corner you can see the color(s) that this block will increase if you use it. Whatever color is depicted will be the stat that is increased through consuming this block.

BEFORE feeding a block to one of your Pokemon, check its current levels -- there is no point in feeding a Yellow Block to a Pokemon who has already maxed-out the Toughness stat.  Remember there is a limit to the number of blocks they can eat.

-- Different Colors and Different Results --

While there are only five primary colors/stats listed, there are actually 15 colors of blocks in the game, because some blocks raise more than one stat//color.  You should make yourself familiar with them all.  The colors are:

Black
Blue
Brown
Clear
Gold
Green
Grey
Indigo
Light Blue
Olive
Pink
Purple
Red
White
Yellow

-- Making Pokeblocks --

   
To create Pokeblocks you must seek out the machines for blending blocks which are located in the lower right corner of the Pokemon Contest House in Lillycove City.  There are four machines there with different configurations:

(1) Top Left -- Empty
(2) Top Right -- One Trainer
(3) Bottom Left -- Three Trainers
(4) Bottom Right -- Two Trainers

The empty machine is actually an auto-networking machine -- when you activate it, your console will attempt to link with your real life friends who are sitting at the same machine in their game.  Once you have linked up, you can then blend berries together!

Each Trainer must hit the action button at the best time in order to increase the speed of the blending -- the faster that the blender is going for the longest period of time influences the quality and smoothness of the block.  The different berries used influences the color of the block.

Making Pokeblocks thru Berry Blending

Experiment with the different machines and different berry combinations to achieve the desired results.  To start you may want to blend with just the one NPC so you get a better idea of the different results possible.  Once you have made a number of different blocks, examine them in the Pokeblox Case (pouch) in your Key Items Pocket.

When you look at a berry in the case you will see that it has specific stats, which are flavor, feel, and level.  The higher the numbers the better the berry.

-- Using Pokeblocks --

Each Pokemon has different tastes and likes, and will prefer specific types of blocks -- sometimes to the detriment of your desires.  You may want to raise a specific contest trait only to learn that the blocks that will make that happen are not among the types your Pokemon likes.

Ideally you should only feed your Pokemon block colors and tastes that it likes, as you get the best results that way...  The nature of your Pokemon largely determines its taste in blocks, with a general guide being:

COLOR -- NATURE
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Black  -- Random
Blue -- Mild, Modest, Quiet, Rash
Brown -- Calm, Careful, Gentle, Hasty, Jolly, Naive, Sassy, Timid
Clear -- Bashful, Hardy, Quirky, Serious
Gold -- Bold, Impish, Lax, Mild, Modest, Quiet, Rash, Relaxed
Green -- Calm, Careful, Gentle, Sassy
Grey -- Random
Indigo -- Hasty, Jolly, Mild, Modest, Naive, Quiet, Rash, Timid
Light Blue -- Bold, Calm, Careful, Gentle, Impish, Lax, Relaxed, Sassy
Olive -- Adamant, Bold, Brave, Impish, Lax, Lonely, Naughty, Relaxed
Pink -- Hasty, Jolly, Naive, Timid
Purple -- Adamant, Brave, Lonely, Mild, Modest, Naughty, Quiet, Rash
Red -- Adamant, Brave, Lonely, Naughty
White -- Random
Yellow -- Bold, Impish, Lax, Relaxed

FLAVOR (Stat) -- NATURES
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Bitter (Smart) -- Calm, Careful, Gentle, Sassy
Dry (Beauty) -- Mild, Modest, Quiet, Rash
Sour (Tough) -- Bold, Impish, Lax, Relaxed
Spicy (Cool) -- Adamant, Brave, Lonely, Naughty
Sweet (Cute) -- Hasty, Jolly, Naive, Timid

Each contest has different required traits and each Pokemon works best with specific traits.  The information that is presented in this Appendix is intended to provide you with a quick and dirty set of directions but to seriously compete, especially if you want to obtain the various Ribbons for these Contests, requires a more serious and detailed examination of the process.

I strongly recommend that you seek out a definitive guide for Pokeblocks either online, or from one of the published guide books like the Brady Guide, so that you have comprehensive information to use in making your decisions.

Many Trainers -- particularly at events and Tournaments -- place heavy emphasis upon the importance of Ribbons and Contest Wins, but other than impressing them, these events serve no lasting or related function in the games.  Some Trainers prefer to obtain well-rounded Pokemon in trades, and look to the Ribbons that the individual Pokemon possesses to determine how well trained or traveled it is.